3 apr 2024 om 13:05 Update: 1 uur geleden
Merijn Zeeman becomes the new general manager of AZ. The driver comes from cycling team Visma-Lease a Bike and will start working at the club from Alkmaar on December 1.
Zeeman will succeed Robert Eenhoorn at AZ, who will leave on July 1 after ten years. Under the former baseball player, the Alkmaar club made the step to the sub-top after a financially difficult period.
Now Zeeman is taking over. The 45-year-old driver spent his entire career in cycling. First he was an amateur cyclist and then a team leader. In recent years, Zeeman has made waves as sporting director of the successful Visma-Lease a Bike.
“I look forward to taking next steps in the football world together with the AZ organization. AZ is known for its specific way of working, both on and off the field,” says Zeeman.
“This culture, vision and working method suit me well. I will first complete this exciting cycling season at Visma-Lease a Bike, and then fully dedicate myself to my work at AZ.”
Zeeman had a very successful year with Visma
Last season Zeeman experienced the highlight with (then) Jumbo-Visma. The yellow-black cycling team won the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de France and the Vuelta à España in one season.
“With Merijn we are bringing an experienced and successful director to our club. The football side will also benefit from Merijn’s years of knowledge and experience in top sport,” says Max Huiberts, AZ’s director of football affairs.
“We work daily to enrich our programs and Merijn has an interesting background to contribute to this. Above all, Merijn’s arrival says a lot about our ambitions that we will continue to pursue in the coming years.”
AZ is having a mostly good season in the Eredivisie, although the club said goodbye to coach Pascal Jansen in January. Under his successor Maarten Martens, the Alkmaar club is currently fourth.
